Hi! I know there are other threads about this out there, but I figured I should make my own to iron out the details.

I need help! I've been wanting to cosplay as Kiki for a very long time now (I'm really short and lots of people have been saying I'd make a cute Kiki) and have finally decided to go through with it. The problem is that I have no sewing experience what so ever. Should I make the dress? Buy it? What should I do?

The next thing would be that I would need a wig. My hair is brown and curly and too long for Kiki. Does anyone know where I can find a good one?

I'm, of course, going to get a Jiji plushie and wear a red bow. I suppose I can figure those (and the shoes) out for myself. I'll also find a small broom somewhere. But if anyone can help me with the dress and wig I would greatly appreciate it!!

(A neko girl falls out of a tree, looks up and asks you, "want a pear?" ^_^)
Can you pm me some reference pictures, I'm currently helping some one in this kind of situation. ^o^

__________________2011cosplays:
Naga (based off Lady Vashj) [WoW]
Marluxia (KH2)
If you can't find me here, I'm on youtube as Bannananaabrigade or on WoW as Shmexxyer or Moennet on Azuremyst.WARNING: I DO NOT SUB THREADS, I GENERALLY DON'T HAVE THE TIME, IF I AM HELPING YOU WITH SOMETHING PLEASE PM ME.

As a former Kiki cosplayer myself, I think I can give you some tips.
First of all, I think this is definitely a costume you could and should make for yourself. In terms of sewing knowledge needed, it's a very basic costume and therefore a good way to teach yourself some skills that'll help you out overall.

I used This pattern to make my Kiki dress, and you can see how it turned out in my gallery. I found this worked well because the sleeve pattern was easily modified to make a shorter sleeve, and the overall shape of the dress helped make me look younger (mostly by concealing my bust).
This dress maybe took me 5 hours to make, which is peanuts : ) I experienced no difficulty in understanding the instructions, and I think it'd be a great first project.

In terms of wigs, cosplay.com actually has a wig store. You can definitely look through there and find one that'd work for her; I'd reccommend, though, getting a REALLY dark brown one as opposed to straight black, as sometimes black hair will wash out skin tones or look too dark. The other place you could check for reasonably priced wigs is Amphigory (a quick google search will locate their website). A caution: they don't ship to Canada, only to the USA, so if anyone is living in Canada they'll have to order through a 3rd party and that's where things may get sketchy.

I know that you said you should be good for the bow, but I also made my own for that and I figure I'll share what I used:
- A medium-width headband that fit comfortably
- Red fabric (slightly stretchy cotton-polyester; reasonably thick)
- This Tutorial
If you can find a red headband and match fabric to it, great! : D If not, I made sort of a 'sock': a tube of fabric, just barely over the width of the headband. Basically, I made a rectangle that was longer than the headband, but double the thickness plus a seam allowance. After sewing, I slipped the 'tube' over the headband and turned the seam to the inside edge so it wouldn't be visible when I wore the band. I hand-sewed the ends, then made the bow according to the tutorial. Instead of attaching the center 'middle piece' though, I wrapped it around the sewn bow and headband at the same time then hand-sewed it so that the bow was fixed in place on top of the headband.
If that's confusing at all, I apologize ^^;;;

Even so, I hope this helped : ) In terms of references, a google search will help with that. Deviantart is also fairly good for that, most people who draw Kiki are very good at making their art accurate.

As a former Kiki cosplayer myself, I think I can give you some tips.
First of all, I think this is definitely a costume you could and should make for yourself. In terms of sewing knowledge needed, it's a very basic costume and therefore a good way to teach yourself some skills that'll help you out overall.

I used This pattern to make my Kiki dress, and you can see how it turned out in my gallery. I found this worked well because the sleeve pattern was easily modified to make a shorter sleeve, and the overall shape of the dress helped make me look younger (mostly by concealing my bust).
This dress maybe took me 5 hours to make, which is peanuts : ) I experienced no difficulty in understanding the instructions, and I think it'd be a great first project.

In terms of wigs, cosplay.com actually has a wig store. You can definitely look through there and find one that'd work for her; I'd reccommend, though, getting a REALLY dark brown one as opposed to straight black, as sometimes black hair will wash out skin tones or look too dark. The other place you could check for reasonably priced wigs is Amphigory (a quick google search will locate their website). A caution: they don't ship to Canada, only to the USA, so if anyone is living in Canada they'll have to order through a 3rd party and that's where things may get sketchy.

I know that you said you should be good for the bow, but I also made my own for that and I figure I'll share what I used:
- A medium-width headband that fit comfortably
- Red fabric (slightly stretchy cotton-polyester; reasonably thick)
- This Tutorial
If you can find a red headband and match fabric to it, great! : D If not, I made sort of a 'sock': a tube of fabric, just barely over the width of the headband. Basically, I made a rectangle that was longer than the headband, but double the thickness plus a seam allowance. After sewing, I slipped the 'tube' over the headband and turned the seam to the inside edge so it wouldn't be visible when I wore the band. I hand-sewed the ends, then made the bow according to the tutorial. Instead of attaching the center 'middle piece' though, I wrapped it around the sewn bow and headband at the same time then hand-sewed it so that the bow was fixed in place on top of the headband.
If that's confusing at all, I apologize ^^;;;

Even so, I hope this helped : ) In terms of references, a google search will help with that. Deviantart is also fairly good for that, most people who draw Kiki are very good at making their art accurate.

Anyways, if anyone has any more questions I can certainly help! : D

That right there now makes me want to try and cosplay her even more I think that I'll go for it too, and I'm so happy you put that pattern in there! I for some reason was having so much difficulty with it.

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wanted to give a tip on the broom stick- if you want one like in the begining part of the movie i made my daughters out of a wooden dowel and some long fake brown grassy stuff from Micheales. i tried to find a pic on the web but i dont remember the exact name for it, any way pics of my broom are in my gallery. it came in a bushel and i unraveled it and hot glued it in layers starting at the tip of the dowel down, then wrapped it in hemp rope.

__________________If at first you dont succeed. . . try, try again.
After the third try you can throw your sewing machine out the window.

wanted to give a tip on the broom stick- if you want one like in the begining part of the movie i made my daughters out of a wooden dowel and some long fake brown grassy stuff from Micheales. i tried to find a pic on the web but i dont remember the exact name for it, any way pics of my broom are in my gallery. it came in a bushel and i unraveled it and hot glued it in layers starting at the tip of the dowel down, then wrapped it in hemp rope.

How far apart did you attatch the layers to it, and where did you put the hemp rope? A few inches down from the bottom-most layer?
I was able to find some straw-like material at Michael's too, but I'm not exactly sure if it'll be enough, so I might have to go back and get some more.

Hello everyone. I'm on the Kiki train too and plan to do this cosplay very soon. But I have reach a bit of a snafu. The pattern that was listed above is no longer available in stores. I'm not a good sewer and can't make a pattern by hand either. If anyone has seen any type of pattern that is close to the one listed above it would greatly welcome. Thank you.